


Just Like The Movies

by RookieSand



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Celebrity Crush, F/F, Fluff, Little bit of angst, it's a date but not a date, pleasant kisses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:01:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28063617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RookieSand/pseuds/RookieSand
Summary: Marianne's face warmed up. She hadn't planned on going to that party in the slightest. She was going to spend the evening with her roommates and her cat watching reruns of The Golden Girls. But if Hilda Goneril was asking... Should she really pass up the opportunity? It wasn't every day someone got asked to attend a party with their celebrity crush. Still, those parties weren't really Marianne's speed. She would be in way over her head if she went.
Relationships: Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril
Comments: 5
Kudos: 81





	1. Chapter 1

"Oh, Marianne! We're never going to make it!"

Hilda clutched onto Marianne's shirt, her knuckles white. Tears streamed down her face mixing with the salty water of the ocean spray. All Marianne could do was stand stoically and hold Hilda as she sobbed. What could she possibly say?

The boat was going to sink; a giant hole in the side made that abundantly clear. Marianne certainly couldn't refute that. There was also a very good possibility that they wouldn't survive this. Marianne wasn't going to promise Hilda the opposite.

Perhaps they should hide away together and spend their last precious moments of life wrapped in each other's embrace. Hilda's warm body against Marianne's. They would both be shaking but incredibly warm. Hilda would be so soft. Her lips would be so plush.

"Marianne."

Marianne could listen to Hilda call her name all day long. Everything felt surreal as they kissed and held on to what little time they had left.

"Marianne!"

Marianne startled. The voice calling her name had turned to a roar that completely jolted her out of her daydream. She looked around quickly to find the source of the voice only to see the director—and everyone else—staring at her. Her body heated up with embarrassment, making her face flush and her hands shake. 

"Marianne, please keep the boom out of the shot!" the director scolded her harshly. "Sheesh, they'll hire just about anyone these days." He slapped a hand against the script he was holding and called for the scene to reset.

Despite the rest of the crew quickly forgetting Marianne's very existence, Marianne's entire face still held its deep shade of red. She couldn't even say this was the first time that she'd been publically scolded on set. Each time she knew that her grave was getting deeper and deeper. She really needed to keep her head on her shoulders while at work before she was fired. Of course, it wasn't always easy. Her eyes fell to the lead actress of the show just as they always did.

Hilda Goneril was a semi-prolific actress. She certainly wasn't an A-list celebrity, flying under the radar most of the time, but she had landed herself a few major roles and award nominations here and there throughout the years. She was what Marianne had always expected: cute, professional, a little full of herself, and personable. She was shorter than Marianne imagined her to be, barely clearing five feet tall, but held an air about her of someone who was very important. And to Marianne, Hilda was fairly important.

Marianne had become a fan of the actress while watching Garreg Mach, a period drama of sorts set in a high school, growing up. The show had always been an incredible mash-up of modern-day high school drama and period drama. The writing was good, despite being a children's show, and Marianne felt it still held up to this day. She was the same age as the stars on the show and had always felt that the episodes appealed to her specifically, their problems mirroring hers. There weren't many bad days that a few episodes of Garreg Mach couldn't at least help. 

High school hadn't really been the highlight of Marianne's life. Between general puberty things and the stress of high school, she had the added bonus of being bounced around from relative to relative after her parents had passed away. Watching Garreg Mach had been one of the few things that had kept her going as her world fell apart around her. She could always count on them to help her pick up the pieces, at least for a little while.

It was also the start of her sexual awakening. To her, there was little else that could get her heart racing like watching strong girls wield axes and swords. She had crushes on nearly every girl in the show, but Hilda specifically had captivated her heart. What it was about her, Marianne didn't know. 

It was by pure coincidence that the two were working on the same show together now. Marianne had never set out to try and get on a show with Hilda. She worked in the industry on the off chance of running into the actress but had never sought her out. However, the fates had aligned, and there Hilda was, mere feet away. Her fourteen-year-old self would be kicking her for never striking up a conversation.

Not that her fourteen-year-old self would've done any better. At least Marianne knew now that Hilda was far out of her league. It just wasn't her place to talk to an actress like Hilda as someone who worked behind the scenes. She had fully taken that sentiment to heart. Crew members were not to be seen or heard. They might as well be invisible. Most actors that Marianne worked with followed this rule. Hilda wasn't an exception. The two had never spoken.

The scene ended and Marianne lowered her mic. Her arms felt heavy, and she had been afraid that the pain in her stomach was going to turn into a thunderous rumble in the middle of the shoot. She dragged herself to the craft services table in search of something to hold her over until the day ended. Her eyes took in the smorgasbord of food, and she had to swallow to keep herself from drooling.

"It sucks that you got yelled at in front of the whole crew."

Marianne froze as Hilda's voice washed over her. Hilda had pulled up beside her at the table; Marianne had vaguely noticed someone come up, but her need for food had drowned out everything else. Hilda's hand rested gently on Marianne's back as she leaned in front of the other girl to pick at some food Marianne was blocking.

"Between you and me," Hilda said in a hushed tone. She had straightened up again and had removed her hand from Marianne's back—although, Marianne could still feel it as if she hadn't. She leaned closer to Marianne's ear, having to stand a bit on her toes to reach. "The director is a total asshole. He's rude and I don't think he likes me very much."

"How could anybody not like you?" The words tumbled out of Marianne's mouth before she could stop them. Of course this would happen to her. She had just wanted a juice box and some fruit, and now was about to be wrapped in workplace drama—something she tried very, very hard to avoid. Not only that, she had word vomited to Hilda Goneril about how everyone should like her.

Hilda laughed. It was something dry and humorless so Marianne wasn't sure why she was laughing at all. "You must be a fan. Only fans compliment me like that." She looked Marianne up and down. "How long have you liked me?"

That was a strange way to phrase the question. She could've asked how long Marianne had been a fan of hers. Still, Marianne felt compelled to answer honestly. "Since... Garreg Mach."

Hilda whistled. "Wow, Garreg Mach? I haven't thought about that show in years. Memories." She sounded nostalgic, but not entirely enthusiastic. "Well, I'm glad you liked it."

"Y-Yeah... um, I liked your episodes with Edelgard the most. You two had good chemistry." Which meant that Marianne shipped them very hard and had written very cringe-y fanfiction regarding the fake relationship.

Hilda laughed again. "That's sweet of you to say since she was always at my throat. That girl could hardly take a joke and she never liked me. Well, okay, some of that _is_ my fault, I'll admit. She's mellowed out a lot these days. I should call her, though she might reject it. I wonder if she has my number blocked..."

Marianne couldn't believe any of that was true. Edelgard on the show had always seemed so put together and refined. Even in interviews off the show, she seemed to be the most mature out of the bunch. To imagine her getting into catfights with Hilda... Well, Marianne supposed nothing was impossible. It wasn't like she had been there.

"Did you get this gig because you knew I was going to be here?" Hilda continued. She had turned away from Marianne, picking at this and that on the table, and flashed a coy smile over her shoulder.

Marianne shook her head. "No... No, it just worked out that way..."

Hilda chuckled. "I'm just teasing you." She playfully batted at Marianne's shoulder and then paused, keeping her hand resting against Marianne's upper arm. "Actually, do you want to hang out? There's that cast and crew party or whatever happening tomorrow. I wasn't planning on going but, if you were going to be there, I might reconsider."

Marianne's face warmed up. She hadn't planned on going to that party in the slightest. She was going to spend the evening with her roommates and her cat watching reruns of The Golden Girls. But if Hilda Goneril was asking... Should she really pass up the opportunity? It wasn't every day someone got asked to attend a party with their celebrity crush. Still, those parties weren't really Marianne's speed. She would be in way over her head if she went.

"Um... C-Can I give you an answer later?" Marianne asked awkwardly.

There was a brief flash of emotion across Hilda's face. Disappointment, maybe? It had been so quick that Marianne had almost missed it. Hilda's hand slipped from Marianne's arm and she fixed her face up with a pleasant smile.

"Oh, alright. Yeah." She laughed lightly. "Just let me know, okay?"

Marianne nodded. "Of course."

Hilda let out an awkward cough, mumbled, "Bye, then," and made her way to her dressing room, leaving the plate of food she had gathered behind. 

Marianne sat on the floor eating Cup Noodles with her fat, orange cat lounging in her lap. Her roommates sat on the couch behind her, one of them brushing out Marianne's hair and the other lounging with her feet on the coffee table. After the long day she'd been having, Marianne had picked up the instant ramen from the convenience store. It was one of her favorite comfort foods and she certainly needed anything to help comfort her. She wasn't sure reruns of Garreg Mach would help in this instance.

She had recounted the day to her roommates as it had happened, starting with getting yelled at and then her talk with Hilda. Marianne ended her tale of woe by asking what she should do about Hilda. She'd never been in a situation like this before and her roommates, while maybe not the most romantically or socially adept, would at least offer some ideas.

"So you don't want to go?" said her lounging roommate, Leonie. "Seems like a waste if you don't."

Leonie was one to give advice that one should do what one wanted because they wanted to. Marianne could sort of agree. There wasn't anything necessarily wrong with taking Hilda up on her offer to go out. It _was_ Hilda's offer after all. It wasn't like Marianne was forcing herself onto Hilda if she said yes. 

"Yeah," Marianne mumbled. "I just... It's Hilda Goneril. Can _I_ really go to a party with Hilda Goneril?"

"What you're not good enough for her?" said the roommate playing with Marianne's hair, Lysithea. "Trust me you're plenty good enough for that bubblegum bi—" She paused abruptly and chose not to finish her sentence.

"It's... not really that either," Marianne said. She pet down her cat's back pensively. 

Lysithea ran the comb slowly through Marianne's hair and leaned over her. "So then, what? You like her right?"

Marianne sighed. "Well, it's like... when you have a celebrity crush you like them, but you know it's not real. I do find Hilda attractive and maybe in some alternate universe I would go to this party, and we would have a great time and live happily ever after. But I don't... know her. I don't know anything about her. She told me today that Edelgard Hresvelg _hated_ her on the set of Garreg Mach. I didn't know that."

"Edelgard didn't like her?" Leonie asked. "Really?"

"See?" Marianne said. "My feelings towards her are based on a persona I've attached to her. I don't think it would be very fair for either of us to go out together with those preconceived notions hanging over us. I mean, what if she isn't what I thought, and my attraction to her is based solely on her looks? I would feel terrible. I mean, I'm sure she already gets that enough from everyone else. She doesn't need it from some random crew member like me."

"I feel like the fact that you're even thinking about it this hard means you care more about her than most people she interacts with," Lysithea pointed out. 

Marianne blinked several times. She really hadn't thought about it like that. To be honest, she did care about Hilda on some level. At the end of the day, Hilda was just a person like everyone else. She ate food, she drank water, and she was probably kept up at night by any mistakes she made on set. But still, Hilda Goneril lived in Marianne's mind as well. Marianne just wasn't sure she would be able to pull the two apart. 

"I'll sleep on it," Marianne said finally. 

Unfortunately, as much as Marianne wanted to sleep on it she found herself tossing and turning in a half-daze, her bed both too hot and too cold to find rest. The events of the day mixed in her mind with old reruns of Garreg Mach. A much younger Hilda taking a much younger Marianne by the hand and leading her around the set.

Marianne remembered this episode. They were going up to the goddess tower. It was said that couples who went up there on the night of the ball fell in love. Hilda had gone up there with Claude if Marianne remembered correctly. But it was just the two of them now.

Hilda's pink hair swirled around her mind. She drifted in and out of the scene, the reality of it slipping. It seemed every second was a new scene, a different angle, a new shot. They were almost to the top of the tower. If they kissed, would they fall in love? Would she want to fall in love with Hilda Goneril?

Marianne's eyes snapped open. Her thoughts instantly vanished and she stared blankly at the ceiling. What had she been dreaming about? 

The sun had yet to rise, but Marianne pulled herself out of bed anyway. Her limbs were heavy and she knew she was going to be in for a rough day. She dragged herself to the bathroom and hopped into the shower. The water at least helped wake her up somewhat. 

She went to the kitchen next making herself the strongest coffee she could and making a bowl of oatmeal. As she sat down with her breakfast, she finally checked the time. It was only three in the morning. She supposed she had to be on set at six so it was just as well. Still, she could've slept another hour.

Marianne chewed her oatmeal pensively. She really couldn't remember anything she had dreamt, but she felt like it had been about Hilda. She wondered if it was some sort of premonition. Did it mean she should go to the party? 

Her cat hopped up onto the table and meowed loudly. She smiled at him and scratched under his chin.

"Do you think I should go? Would you like a second mommy?"

The cat meowed again and began to purr. He tried to crawl onto Marianne's shoulder from the table. She giggled and brought him up onto her shoulder. She supposed that was a good reaction. If her cat liked the idea, then maybe it was a good one.

Marianne stretched as she wandered over to the craft services table. She glanced around quickly, saw no sign of Hilda, and proceeded to stuff a much too large donut into her mouth. She was starving after feeling too nervous to eat lunch earlier, thinking she would be ambushed by Hilda wherever she went to eat. She'd finally broken down and scarfed down the heavenly donut.

"There you are, Marianne!"

Marianne nearly choked. She spun around, hand covering her mouth, and made a soft noise of surprise. The donut was crammed into every corner of her mouth and there was really no hope for her to be able to speak.

"Oh, sorry," Hilda said with a small laugh. "I didn't mean to catch you mid-chew. Here." She reached behind Marianne and opened a juice box for her, offering it up with a sympathetic look. "I know those donuts are really cakey. They get stuck to the roof of your mouth so easily."

Marianne took a sip of the juice to wash the donut down. It was the same juice that she'd had yesterday. It must've been a coincidence that Hilda had grabbed it, but it was Marianne's favorite.

"Better?" Hilda asked.

Marianne nodded slightly. Hilda was giving her a look like she was expecting something. Marianne knew exactly what that something was, but she couldn't bring herself to make the first move. She had to make sure that Hilda really did want to spend time with her first. She needed to know that she hadn't made up that whole scenario or misunderstood Hilda's intentions.

"So," Hilda said after another moment of silence, "um, did you... think about going to the party?"

"Oh, uh, yeah," Marianne mumbled. "I, uh..."

Like yesterday, Marianne saw a flash of disappointment cross Hilda's face. This time it wasn't fixed up with a pleasant smile though. Instead, Hilda turned toward the table and began placing food on a plate, her face holding a neutral emotion.

"I'm sorry," she said with a slight shake of her head. "I'm sure you have other plans. It's a Friday night after all."

Marianne shook her head. "No! No... I mean... I just... I'll go."

Hilda looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. "You don't have to go if you don't want to. I'm not forcing you."

Marianne paused for a moment. Hilda had said that even she didn't want to go to the party but that she'd reconsider if Marianne went. If that was true, then perhaps it didn't matter where they went. Marianne certainly had no interest in going to a party. However, she couldn't lie and say that she didn't want to spend at least a brief moment with Hilda. 

So maybe she could do something stupid.

"If we... don't go to the party, is that fine too?" she asked.

"What does that mean?"

Marianne sucked in a sharp breath. "Well, we... don't have to go to the party tonight. Um, if you wanted, we could do... something else."

"Are you asking me on a date?"

Marianne's cheeks flushed instantly and she looked at Hilda with wide eyes. "Wh-Why would it be a date? Can't coworkers, you know, grab a drink together?" Marianne felt like it was a little presumptuous of Hilda to ask if it was a date. As far as she knew, Hilda didn't even like women. And Marianne didn't think there was anything about her that screamed lesbian... She'd have to ask her roommates if she was missing something.

Hilda laughed. "Yeah, okay. That sounds fun. Meet me in my dressing room once we wrap, okay?"

Marianne nodded stiffly. "Okay."

Like yesterday, the conversation stilted. Hilda nodded once, said her goodbye, and shuffled her way back to the dressing room. This time she took the plate of food with her.

Marianne's knees nearly gave out as soon as Hilda walked away. Had she really just asked _the_ Hilda Goneril out for drinks?

And had Hilda Goneril agreed to it...?


	2. Chapter 2

The set was dark as Marianne made her way to Hilda's dressing room. She was rarely back by the dressing rooms as she had no business being there. As she tiptoed past the lead actor's dressing room, she heard the definitely-not-trying-to-be-quiet moans of whatever stagehand he'd roped into his room. It was, of course, no secret he did this as most of the cast and crew had some sort of experience with him. But Marianne wasn't necessarily thinking about him. 

What if Hilda had asked her to her dressing room for some ulterior motive? Marianne would prefer going back to either of their homes—Hilda's would be infinitely better as Marianne had two nosy roommates. Would she even say yes if Hilda asked? That seemed like a large leap when they barely knew each other. Marianne certainly didn't know where Hilda had been either. She didn't care how many people Hilda had slept with, but Marianne wasn't about to get an STD just to hook up with a celebrity. 

Hilda's dressing room opened and the actress stepped out carrying shoes, a bag, and a large coat. She looked a little tired as she closed the door behind her. She didn't seem to notice Marianne standing in the hall as she fumbled with her phone. "Fuck," she muttered under her breath. "I'm an idiot..."

"Uh... H-Hilda?" Marianne called softly.

Hilda jumped, her phone dropping from her hand with a loud clatter. Her head whipped over to look at Marianne and, when her eyes settled on her, she let out a long sigh. "Jesus, you scared me."

Marianne shuffled over and picked up Hilda's phone, which had skidded some ways down the hall. She held it out. "S-Sorry about that." Marianne straightened up. "Erm, uh, is everything okay? You... didn't sound happy."

Hilda shook her head. "Oh, yeah! I was just thinking about something else." She looked a bit flustered and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "So, um, it took you a while to get here. I thought you were going to come once we wrapped?"

Marianne didn't want to admit that she'd nearly lost her resolve and gone home. She had been nervously fixing her hair in the bathroom for the last ten minutes and then spent five more pacing across the set.

"Sorry about that. It took me a bit to put all my gear away and get ready."

Hilda nodded. "Right. Sorry. I don't know much about behind the scenes stuff." She smiled. "So where are we headed? Somewhere lowkey, I hope. I don't want the paparazzi seeing us out."

The words stung a bit, but Marianne expected it to say the least. It wasn't like a celebrity could be seen puttering around the city with just any old nobody. Marianne supposed it was a riskier move on Hilda's part. If they had gone to the party, at least there would've been a reason for them to be together. This was clearly two people hanging out together who definitely shouldn't have been.

"Um... we could go get drinks," Marianne offered. "I'll drive if that's okay. Would be less conspicuous in my car, I think."

Hilda nodded. "Yes, that sounds lovely!" She bounced over to Marianne and wrapped her arm around Marianne's upper arm. "Shall we?"

Marianne tried to keep her breathing in check. Hilda smelled amazing and was incredibly warm, her plush chest pushing into Marianne's arm. This was all Marianne could've ever dreamed of. Of course, that only meant she would have to wake up into reality eventually. She knew that was going to feel like having a bucket of cold water dumped on her.

They made their way down to the parking lot. Marianne led the way to her car, a beat-up 2010 Kia Soul. It wasn't pretty, but it got her where she needed to go. In all honesty, she didn't know enough about cars to even want to bother getting a new one. The inside was similar to the outside. It was dirty and, if one didn't know any better, it could be mistaken that Marianne lived out of her car with all of the junk in the back seat. There was clothing of all types including—Hilda's eye had just caught it—underwear, empty bottles, coats, shoes, and a handful of receipts. The car started right up as soon as Marianne turned the key. She supposed that counted for something even if the rest of it was nothing to look at.

"Um... sorry about the mess," Marianne said. 

"That's fine," Hilda said. "You should see my bedroom on a bad day." 

Marianne's face felt warm. It was an innocent statement, but Marianne wouldn't have minded being invited to Hilda's bedroom.

"So drinks?" Hilda prompted. "Where are we going?"

"There's this little bar I know. My roommates and I like to go there a lot. Sometimes I go after work. Seems like a good place to start."

"Away we go then!" Hilda cheered, pointing her finger to the sky and narrowly avoiding banging it on the roof of the car.

The drive was quiet, neither of them coming up with any sort of decent conversation. Marianne felt relieved when they finally pulled into the bar parking lot. Maybe Hilda wasn't as personable as she had originally thought. Or maybe they really weren't hitting it off. Marianne supposed as far as dates went this hadn't been the worst one she'd ever had. Not that it was a date. They were just coworkers getting drinks together.

As Marianne went to leave the car, Hilda grabbed her sleeve. She froze and glanced over her shoulder. Hilda had a pensive look on her face, and she suddenly looked over at Marianne as if a thought had struck her.

"I need a disguise."

Marianne was confused. "Why?"

"I... I just really don't feel like being recognized tonight, okay? So... do you have anything that I can wear?"

Marianne nodded. "Let me check in the back." She got out of the car and climbed into the backseat to root around in all of her belongings. It only took her a few minutes to produce a dark wig, face mask, and a beanie. She held them out to Hilda. "These should do the trick, I think."

Hilda smiled and took the items gratefully. She began tying her hair back to situate the wig. Marianne slumped in the backseat. She could imagine that it would be rough for Hilda if they got spotted together. The rumors alone could be horrible. Hilda going out late with some random woman wouldn't do wonders for her image. Then again, it was hard to say how the media would spin the story. Maybe it wouldn't be so awful.

Hilda turned around to look at Marianne. With her new black bob and face mask with kittens on it, she didn't look exactly like Hilda Goneril. However, her pink-colored eyes were still fairly prominent. But Marianne figured they could easily be overlooked, especially in a dark bar. She gave Hilda a thumbs up.

Hilda's eyes scrunched up, indicating her big smile under her mask. "Sweet! Let's go!"

The bar was incredibly quiet for a Friday evening. There were, at most, ten people inside, many of them Marianne recognized as regulars. It was certainly a hole-in-the-wall kind of place, being out of the way of most of the nightlife around town. There wasn't much foot traffic in the area to attract a lot of attention despite it being a very nice bar that served excellent drinks. Marianne only knew of its existence because Lysithea was an old friend of the owner.

The bell above the door rang as they entered and the towering man behind the counter shouted, "Yo! Marianne!"

Marianne waved slightly. She came down often enough that the owner recognized her on sight. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing but decided not to dwell on it as she claimed a stool at the counter. Hilda plopped into the seat beside her.

The owner came over and smiled widely. He was an incredibly large man with big shoulders and a broad chest. His blond hair was starting to grow out, though he kept his beard neatly trimmed. Marianne was extremely fond of him because he reminded her of a big, cuddly teddy bear.

"Hey, Mari," he greeted in a much softer tone this time. "Usual?"

"Hi, Raphael. Yeah, the usual is good."

He turned his attention to Hilda next. "And for you, miss?"

Marianne noticed Hilda straighten up a bit at his smooth tone. She supposed that wasn't odd. Many a woman were attracted to Raphael. Unfortunately, he wasn't single.

"I'll have what she's having," Hilda said, leaning forward to push her chest out.

Marianne couldn't help but notice that her tone had been a bit more flirtatious than anything Marianne had heard so far that evening. She refrained from rolling her eyes. How little Hilda knew. Raphael was gay.

Raphael mixed their drinks and set them gently in front of the two women. "So, Mari, who's your friend? Never seen her before."

Both of them paused. They hadn't come up with a fake name for Hilda. There was another beat of silence and then Marianne and Hilda spoke at the same time. Marianne said, "Vanessa," while Hilda said, "Charlotte." They looked at each other.

Hilda recovered first. "Babe, I told you to call me Charlie," she said playfully. "I can't believe you forgot already."

"R-Right," Marianne said. "Charlie."

Hilda fixed her gaze on Raphael. "Charlotte is my middle name. Had a recent falling out with my grandmother who I'm named after." She waved her hand dismissively. "You know how it is."

Maybe Hilda knew more than Marianne gave her credit for. Marianne hadn't specified that this was a gay bar, but it seemed Hilda had picked up on it. It wasn't like there was anything that jumped out as it being a gay bar... Unless the name of the bar, Bottom's Up!, had signaled something to her. 

Raphael nodded. "Recently come out?"

Hilda sighed and stirred her drink. "Only to my immediate family really... Though my mother is a terrible gossip so I don't know what I was thinking."

"Well, hopefully, Marianne will treat you tonight. You're always welcome here." Raphael smiled at them both before taking off down the bar to attend to another customer.

Marianne looked over at Hilda who was still staring down into her drink. Hilda pulled her mask down and brought the glass to her lips, tilting her head back and taking more than half of it down in one large gulp. She settled the mask into place and continued to play with the cup, swirling around the rest of the contents.

Marianne couldn't help but wonder if that story was true. Hilda was a great actress, but the bitterness in her voice sounded a little too real. Then again, Marianne couldn't make any assumptions like that. And she certainly wasn't going to pry.

"Good damage control," Marianne said quietly.

Hilda laughed. "Yeah, I'm a good actress." As Marianne had thought. "Are you really going to pick up my tab tonight, _babe_?" The 'babe' tacked onto this one was more of a jab than anything else.

Marianne pulled out her wallet and checked its contents. She wasn't broke; but, depending on how much Hilda wanted to drink and anything else they wanted to do that night, it could make a dip in her funds. She tucked her wallet away again. "Sure," she said.

Hilda leaned against her. "You're a pushover. You know, someone a lot meaner than me would take advantage of you."

Marianne supposed that was true. But she was still very unclear as to what Hilda's mental state was at the moment; and with Hilda's chest leaning into her arm, she could hardly think to say no. If Hilda wanted to get hammered, who was she to stop her from doing so? And if that required a lot of drinks, well, Marianne could always ask for the money back. Hilda seemed like the kind to repay favors.

"You don't have to," Hilda continued, leaning away from Marianne and finishing up her drink. "This isn't a date after all... Hey, Raphael! Can I get another of these?"

Marianne sipped her drink as she watched Raphael fix Hilda her second. Had Hilda wanted Marianne to ask her on a real date? Regardless, Marianne's financial situation wouldn't have changed had it been a date. And really, why did she have to pay if it was? Though... she supposed she was the one who had asked Hilda out.

Raphael dropped the drink off in front of Hilda and she thanked him. She stared down into the glass; Marianne couldn't even begin to guess what she was thinking about. The silence between them stretched out. It wasn't wholly awkward, but Marianne was pretty sure they should talk about something. She just didn't know what to ask. 

"So... uh," Marianne started, trying not to sound too horribly awkward, "do you have any pets?"

"Nope," Hilda said. She picked up a menu to peruse. "You?"

"I have a cat. His name is Dorte."

"Dorte?"

"Named after a horse I used to ride when I was younger. Kind of a weird name, huh?"

Hilda shrugged. "Not really. I like it." She smiled. "Oh! Onion rings sound fucking delicious right now..."

Marianne was caught off guard by the sudden shift in topic. She never usually ate anything when she went drinking at Raphael's. She had almost forgotten they served food. "Oh, do you want some?"

Hilda looked over. "Erm... I _really_ shouldn't." She looked torn, her eyes betraying how much she really wanted onion rings. "Will you share them with me?"

"Yeah, if you don't want them all to yourself."

Presented with this new information, Hilda looked even more conflicted than before. She turned the menu over in her hands several times. Marianne supposed she should choose for her.

"Raphael, can we get an order of onion rings?" Marianne called.

"They'll be right out!"

Hilda slapped the menu down. "Marianne, I didn't say if I wanted them yet!"

Marianne chuckled. "We'd be here all night if I let you choose. Besides, I could go for a snack."

Raphael brought the onion rings out to them promptly. They certainly weren't gourmet, but they were warm and greasy. The coating was crispy and flavourful, breaking easily to reveal the tasty onion inside. Marianne hadn't been particularly hungry but, if she wanted, probably could've eaten the whole plate to herself.

Hilda plucked her own ring from the plate. She took a delicate bite only to have the entire onion slide out of the fried coating. She made a noise of distress and quickly slurped the onion into her mouth. She fanned her hand quickly in front of her mouth, chewing while taking in large gulps of air.

"Hot! Hot!" 

Marianne laughed and handed Hilda a napkin to help clean the grease off her fingers and face. Hilda took it gratefully and cleaned herself up. She called for Raphael to bring her a cup of water to soothe her now tender tongue. 

"Bar food is so good," Hilda hummed as she finished off the empty breading. "Ugh, I wish I could indulge in shit more."

"Don't go out often?" Marianne asked, tilting her head.

"Not so much that, I just have to watch what I eat pretty carefully or my trainer will be up my ass about it." She rolled her eyes. "This is our secret by the way. You wouldn't rat me out to my trainer, right?"

"I don't see how I could when I don't know your trainer."

Hilda nodded and looked away. "Oh... right. Well, that's good then."

Marianne briefly wondered if Hilda had forgotten that they lived two completely separate lives. She supposed they were talking normally like they were old friends. It was easy to forget that Hilda was a successful actress and Marianne worked behind the scenes.

With food and a couple of drinks in her, Hilda loosened up. Their stilted conversations started to flow as Hilda began to open up about herself a little more. This is always what Marianne saw on TV. A Hilda Goneril who loved to talk about herself. Though Marianne supposed Hilda never talked about herself. She talked about things she was doing but not about her interests or hobbies. Even now, the information that Hilda was giving up was surface level at best. Still, Marianne would take it.

But it wasn't just that. Hilda was a good listener as well. She prompted Marianne to talk frequently and never interrupted or belittled her answers. They talked like they were old friends catching up.

It was almost like they were on a real date. Of course... that was just a dream. Marianne wasn't going to delude herself that this would be anything more than them grabbing drinks for one night.

In the end, Hilda only ordered her two drinks and the plate of onion rings—a completely reasonable demand for Marianne's wallet. Hilda had wandered off to the bathroom while Marianne settled their bill.

"She's really cute," Raphael said, leaning conspiratorially against the counter. "How long have you two been going out?" He waggled his eyebrows at her as if Marianne's answer was going to be something interesting.

Marianne let out an awkward, bubbly laugh. "We're not. Sh-she just calls me babe. Um, we, like, work together, or whatever. She wanted to go out. No big deal..." 

Raphael shrugged. "If you say so. Hey, Dorothea is playing a show at Downriver. She gave me a couple tickets, but I can't make tonight." He slid two tickets across the bar to her. 

"Raphael... I..."

"Hey, what you do with them is up to you," he said holding his hands up. "But... you've been single a while. Have fun tonight." He winked and smiled. "It's out of my hands now."

Marianne sighed and pocketed the tickets. No harm in taking them. Maybe Lysithea and Leonie would want them.

Hilda returned from the bathroom and slipped her arm around Marianne's waist, cuddling up into her. She shivered slightly as she did so, pulling Marianne's arm around her. "Ready?"

Marianne noticed Raphael's not-even-trying-to-be-subtle smile. She knew how this looked, but it wasn't like that. "Yep."

Marianne had started the car, but they had yet to move. They hadn't really decided where to go next. Hilda would need to be taken home at some point, Marianne assumed, but Marianne didn't know where that was. And Hilda hadn't offered up that information to her.

"Would you mind if we went to CVS?" Hilda said suddenly. "I need some things and since you're already toting me around the city..."

Marianne nodded. "Uh, sure." Really, she didn't want to go. She didn't know what Hilda could possibly want to get at a drugstore. However, it was a good way to spend more time with her. And Marianne wanted to spend more time with Hilda despite everything. 

Hilda ditched the wig for her disguise this time, preferring to just tuck her hair up under the beanie as best she could. She grabbed one of Marianne's jackets claiming she was cold. With Hilda's disguise set, they entered the store.

Like the bar, the store was quiet. Not exactly surprising as it was almost nine PM. Marianne wasn't even sure what they were doing there and the woman behind the counter certainly didn't look like she was in the mood for whatever antics they were about to get up to. Marianne responded to the woman's curt greeting with an awkward, "Hello," and a nod. Hilda barely seemed to notice, making her way into the store with little hesitation.

She went to the magazine rack and plucked one off of the shelf to peruse. Marianne pulled up beside her, glancing at the magazine in her hands. It was some sort of celebrity gossip magazine. Hilda had opened it up to an article in the middle. There were pictures of Hilda eating lunch with the lead actor of the show she was on. They looked to be having a good time, but the headline was decidedly implying more. 

Hilda frowned as she skimmed the article. Her lips moved as she spoke the words under her breath. "A year?" she mumbled. "Yeah, okay." 

From what little whispers Marianne was able to grasp, it sounded like the article was implying that the co-stars were a bit more than co-stars. Somehow them going out to lunch seemed to prove this, though Marianne guessed there was no solid evidence on the matter. That was probably why Hilda was so adamant that the two not be seen together. She already had horrible relationship rumors flying around.

"Did you come here just for that trash magazine?" Marianne asked softly. "It's just bad gossip."

Hilda looked up as if she'd forgotten Marianne was there. "Right... Sorry, no that's not why I came here. It just... it bothers me that it's right here. The article is listed on the front cover." She closed the magazine and pointed to the little blurb referencing the article on the front.

Marianne nodded. "I can see, but doesn't this happen with every male co-star you have? I can name several rumors."

Hilda looked upset. "So I shouldn't be mad because it happens all the time?" she snapped

"No, no, you have every right to be mad about it. I was just wondering why this one got under your skin..."

Hilda puffed herself up as if she were going to really let Marianne have it but let all of it out on a sharp exhale. "Sorry, I didn't mean to take it out on you. I'm just sick of tabloid articles writing bullshit about me all the time. I'm literally never in them unless, of course, I eat lunch with some fucker... Then I make front-page. It's..."

"Dehumanizing?" Marianne offered.

"I was just going to say annoying, but that works."

Marianne shrugged. "Okay, if you didn't want to look at that tabloid, why are we here?"

"Oh, yeah!"

Hilda grabbed Marianne's hand and led her through the aisles until they came to the condom section. She placed her hand on her chin as she looked thoughtfully at the choices. There were rows and rows of colorful boxes boasting excellent pleasure for both men and women. Marianne tried not to let standing in front of condoms get her too flustered. They were just easy protection for having sex. No big deal. Then again... Hilda Goneril was standing right beside her checking out her options. Marianne blushed.

"You'd think that all condoms would be the same, right?" Hilda said. "Like it's just a piece of latex, how many options, realistically, should there be?"

Marianne didn't know how to respond. She'd never bought condoms before so she wasn't even sure what made a good one. She really had no reason for them as far as personal use was concerned, and any time she'd ever used one—which was enough to count on one hand—the other party had provided. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd used one, it had been so long.

"I do like these though," Hilda said, plucking a box off of the shelf. "They have these little ridges that feel nice, I guess..." Marianne couldn't help but notice that her grip tightened on the box. Was she still thinking about the article? 

"Why are you... buying those?" Marianne asked.

"Aren't they just handy to have?" Hilda countered.

"I can't say that I have much use for them..."

Hilda looked over at her. Despite half her face being hidden, Marianne could tell she was smiling. "You know, Marianne, it might be rude of me to ask, but do you not get laid very often?"

Marianne's face flushed. "I... well, I..." She didn't, but she didn't exactly want to admit that to Hilda. It wasn't like her circumstances made it easy. She lived with two roommates who would relentlessly tease her if she made so much as a peep. God forbid she even just bring someone home. And besides, she wasn't one for hooking up anyway. 

Hilda giggled. "When's the last time you had sex?"

Marianne couldn't remember. Whenever she'd broken up with her girlfriend. At least a year ago. She couldn't say that out loud, but she knew her silence spoke louder than her words.

"Yikes," Hilda muttered, fixing Marianne with a wide-eyed gaze. "That long, huh?" She shrugged and looked back at the wall of condoms. "Well, you don't necessarily strike me as someone who puts out on a first date. Does that mean you're single?"

Again, Marianne was quiet. How could Hilda gather all that information just from her not using condoms? She had thought her answer to be so innocuous. 

"Hm... good to know," Hilda said with a nod. "Well, do you have any opinion on which ones to get?"

Marianne wasn't sure why her opinion on it mattered. "Um... those... are fine if you like them?"

Hilda grabbed two more boxes.

Marianne was dragged to the front counter. Her face was flushed, though she wasn't sure why. It wasn't like there was any reason for the clerk to believe that they were going to have sex. Then again maybe it still looked like that... She wasn't sure and Hilda was being uncharacteristically quiet. Was she embarrassed to be buying three boxes of condoms? She didn't seem the type.

Marianne's heart sunk a bit when the clerk told them to enjoy their evening. She wanted to scream that it wasn't what it looked like, but what did it matter to the woman behind the counter? Before she could process any more of the situation, she was being dragged through the automatic doors by Hilda.

They sat back in Marianne's car, but Marianne hesitated in starting it. The streetlamps cast pale light into the car as she sat staring firmly out the windshield. Her heart had yet to settle down from their little adventure.

"What's wrong?" Hilda asked. She'd shaken her hair out from the hat and looked over at Marianne. She looked beautiful with her hair mussed up and her lips slightly parted. 

Marianne didn't respond. She wasn't sure how to. She wasn't sure what was wrong because it wasn't a problem with her.

"A-Are you mad I made you buy condoms with me?" Hilda asked now. Her head was hung low and she was fiddling with the beanie. "I'm really sorry. I didn't want to upset you..."

"It's not that," Marianne responded. "Um... what's wrong with you? Er, uh, I mean, like, is everything okay...?"

"What makes you say that?" Hilda said with a slight laugh.

"Well, when you were coming out of your dressing room, you seemed upset. At the bar, your story sounded a bit too real. Even when we were buying the condoms, it seemed like you really didn't want them..."

Hilda nodded and shrugged. "How do you know this isn't how I always am?"

Marianne sat back in her chair. "Well, I guess I don't really. You also don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. Um, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

There was a long moment of silence, both of them staring out the window. Marianne thought she heard Hilda sniffle but didn't dare to look over at her. If Hilda Goneril was going to cry in her car, she was going to give her as much space as she possibly could.

Hilda's voice finally broke the silence. "If I tell you a secret, you won't tell anyone right?"

"Yeah... I won't tell."

"Okay, so I've been having a pretty shit two weeks. My boyfriend broke up with me because he saw that stupid article. He was upset because, every time I go out with someone, that always happens to me. And he said that we should just make our relationship public so people would stop talking. But I've only known him for three months. And I wasn't ready to put that relationship out in the open. And he said that if I didn't, then I didn't truly like him so he left me. Which, I mean, he was a really nice guy up until that point... But anyway, that's only half the shit I've been dealing with.

"So on top of my shit ex-boyfriend, there's this crazy-cute crewmember girl I was kinda crushing on. I didn't know what to do. So I googled a bunch of shit and realized I was bi, I guess. This is before my boyfriend broke up with me. But after he broke up with me, I wanted to tell my parents that I was bi because this girl had really stolen my heart by this point. I thought they would be cool with it since they're, like, not horrible people. And I wanted to ease them into the idea that maybe I would date women before asking this girl out.

"They didn't take it very well... They weren't like... kick-me-out-of-the-house mad or something, but they weren't supportive. They thought I was just acting out because my boyfriend broke up with me. They were so concerned about my career and how it would look if I came out as bi too... Like my happiness comes second to how I look in the public eye. 

"I just wanted to take my mind off of things and have fun for a change. Sorry for dragging you into it. You can take me home if you want to."

Hilda stopped and took a deep breath. She'd barely breathed as she coughed up everything she was holding inside. Her hands were shaking and her cheeks were wet. Marianne wondered if she was the first person Hilda had told all this to. If this was the first time that Hilda had let out any of her pent up frustrations about the matter.

Marianne sighed, reaching into her pocket, pulled the tickets out, and set them in Hilda's lap. She started the car. She knew where to go next.

"What are these?" Hilda asked confused. "Tickets?"

"Raphael gave them to me before we left. One of the bar regulars, she's a singer. She's playing a show tonight. Do you want to go?"

Hilda sat forward a bit. She wiped her cheeks, her eyes already starting to brighten up again. "If you're okay taking me, I'd love to. But... I understand why you wouldn't want to go with me."

"If there's anything I know about, it's needing a break from your family... We can stay out all night if we have to."

Hilda smiled, something so genuinely pure that it nearly broke Marianne's heart. "Th-Thank you."


	3. Chapter 3

Downriver was packed. Marianne wasn't surprised. It was a popular bar and it was only exacerbated when live music was playing. Not to mention that Dorothea was, while not explicitly famous, fairly popular with the community around the city. Particularly the women. Marianne had already bumped into several of them who had given her a once over on their way by, only to see her clinging to Hilda as she dragged her through the crowd. Who would've thought that, if Marianne just went out more, she would probably get a date?

Hilda was holding her hat tightly on her head as they shoved through the sea of people. She'd put the wig back on for extra coverage but Marianne could understand her concern at losing her disguise. There were a lot of people here and her chances of being recognized her high, even with the disguise. Marianne dipped quickly and found an open place against the wall next to the hallway that led to the bathrooms. The view could've been worse.

Hilda was standing on her toes as she looked over the crowd, scanning it like she was looking for someone. She gave up in her search rather quickly and leaned back against the wall, bumping her shoulder against Marianne.

"It's pretty crazy!" she practically yelled to be heard over the noise.

Marianne nodded in response. "Dorothea is really popular."

"Damn! Can't believe I get to see a real underground celebrity. This is going to be so cool!"

Marianne was a bit surprised by this. There were plenty of bands playing plenty of shows all over the city. One didn't have to look hard to find them. Marianne went to them frequently, often being dragged along by Leonie and Lysithea since this was more of their scene. She'd even seen Dorothea a handful of times. It was odd to think that Hilda had never gone out like this.

The crowd erupted into cheers and Marianne looked up to see Dorothea taking the stage. She looked as beautiful as ever, her dark hair flowing down around her shoulders. She was wearing a red jacket over a black crop-top and denim shorts over fishnet leggings. It was a staple of hers to look incredibly sexy too. Marianne sighed heavily. Girls...

As Dorothea finished her opening monologue thanking everyone for coming and started her first song, Marianne's attention was pulled back to Hilda. Hilda had grabbed her hand and taken a step forward. She was on her toes again and was totally absorbed in the chaos of the bar. Marianne realized that Hilda had grabbed her hand so she wouldn't get lost or pushed away. Marianne was Hilda's lifeline. She laced their fingers together.

Hilda looked back at her, her expression confused. But she didn't pull her hand away. Instead, she squeezed it tighter. Marianne's heart skipped a beat. 

She wanted to know more about Hilda. This girl who, up until yesterday, had only been a character on a show she liked growing up. But Hilda Goneril was a person too. A beautiful woman who always found some reason to laugh even when she didn't feel like it. Who was tired of being who she was. Who loved a girl just like Marianne did. Marianne wanted to be that girl that she loved. She wanted to hear more about Hilda's life, listen to how her day was, and take her to events like this. 

Marianne pulled Hilda back to her. Hilda stumbled a bit, falling into Marianne's chest. She laughed and looked up at Marianne with bright eyes.

"This is amazing!" she cheered. 

Marianne brought her hand up to Hilda's face, gently pulling her mask down to her chin. She leaned in closer and felt Hilda tense for a moment as she processed what was happening. But she relaxed again almost instantly and she leaned into Marianne's touch, her eyes flicking up to meet Marianne's for just a moment.

Marianne didn't know how long they kissed for. It could have been seconds or it could have been years. But when Hilda finally pulled away, she gave Marianne a look that melted her heart. Maybe in the morning, neither of them would feel the same as they were now. They were high on adrenaline and the music washing over them. Marianne didn't care. She would take this one moment. Like a scene from a movie, she would take her kiss with the girl of her dreams. And if it was nothing, it didn't matter. They had this moment.

Hilda smiled and dragged Marianne out into the crowd. They pushed their way in until they were closer to the center, dancing along with the rest of the people moving about them as Dorothea sang her heart out. They held each other's hands tightly, not wanting to lose each other in the crowd. Hilda was laughing and smiling, spinning Marianne around in circles. Marianne's heart felt like it was going to burst. Was it even legal to be this happy?

The song ended and the crowd erupted into cheers. The two stopped dancing, staring at each other and out of breath. 

"Alright, alright," Dorothea called into the mic. "This song goes out to all the lovely ladies attending tonight's event. And one very particular lovely lady." The crowd made a long 'oo' sound and she laughed. "Alright, enjoy you guys."

The song was much slower than the one that had been previously playing. Hilda wrapped her arms around Marianne's waist and gently swayed along with her as the music played. For once, Marianne was happy she'd done something so stupid. She rested her arms around Hilda's neck and Hilda cuddled into her. It had been so long since Marianne had had anyone touch her like this. She couldn't even pretend that it wasn't a rush. She dared to plant a kiss on the top of Hilda's head and was rewarded with Hilda squeezing her tighter.

The song ended and Dorothea called there would be a brief intermission. The two pulled away from each other, a sudden awkwardness washing over without the music's dream-like melody. The crowd started to disburse, their need for alcohol outweighing their need to stay out on the dancefloor. Hilda looked up at Marianne.

"Should we get out of here?" she asked.

Marianne blinked in surprise. She didn't know what that insinuated, but if Hilda was ready to go she wasn't going to make her stay. "Yeah, if you want."

Hilda nodded and grabbed Marianne's hand. As she went to turn, she bumped hard into the person behind her. "Ah, I'm so—wait, Edelgard?!"

The girl who had been bumped into quickly clamped a hand over Hilda's mouth. "I see you never learned to keep your mouth shut!" she hissed. "Do you need to announce to the whole club I'm here?"

Hilda pulled Edelgard's hand away. "What are you doing here?" She seemed almost giddy to have bumped into her old co-star.

Edelgard's face flushed as she looked away. "That's none of your business."

Hilda laughed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, I guess."

Edelgard looked between Hilda and Marianne and then at their hands still laced together through all of this. "If you must know, I'm here to watch my girlfriend perform."

"Your girlfriend?!" Hilda exclaimed. "Dorothea?"

"Oh my God, I'm going to tape your mouth shut!" Edelgard snapped. "Can't you control her?" she asked, flicking a glare at Marianne.

Marianne shook her head quickly. To be honest, she was still a little starstruck that she was meeting Edelgard Hresvelg. _The_ Edelgard Hresvelg. Her high school OTP was currently interacting right in front of her eyes. This night really couldn't get any wilder. "We-We're not..."

Hilda gasped before Marianne could fully clear up the misunderstanding. "Edelgard, you _have_ to do me a favor."

Edelgard crossed her arms and turned up her nose. "I don't have to do anything for you." She sighed. "But what is it?"

"Can you get us backstage? Pleeeeeeease? Pretty please?"

Edelgard took a moment to consider it. "I'm not supposed to do that... But since I know you're not going to do anything weird, I'll allow it. Of course, I fully expect this favor to be repaid."

Hilda nodded. "Anything! You name it."

With Hilda now fully indebted to her, Edelgard nodded. "Alright. Follow me."

Edelgard pushed her way through the crowd and down a side hallway that was blocked by security. The guards stepped aside for her and then cast suspicious glances at Hilda and Marianne.

"They're with me," Edelgard said lightly. "Dorothea is okay with it." That was a little bit of a lie as there was no way that Edelgard could've cleared it beforehand, but the guards didn't need to know that. And they asked no questions.

The women passed through security and were swallowed by the quietness of the backstage area. All the excitement outside was just a hum in the back of their minds. Marianne felt much more at ease without so many people writhing against her. Edelgard led them to Dorothea's dressing room and knocked lightly on the door.

"Is that you, Edie?" came Dorothea's voice on the other side.

Hilda laughed. "Edie?"

"Shut up," Edelgard snapped. "Uh, yes, dear. It's me. I brought a couple of friends along as well if that's alright."

"Of course." The door opened and Dorothea stood in the doorway with a bright smile. "The more the merrier." She stood aside and the three women entered.

Dorothea's dressing room was pretty plain. There was a rack of outfits off to the side and a large vanity for her to do her hair and makeup in. The other furniture in the room consisted of an old beat-up couch, a stained coffee table, and some sad-looking bean bag chairs. Marianne could also smell weed. 

"I have to be back on in about seven minutes," Dorothea said, glancing at her phone. "But make yourselves at home." She looked between Marianne and Hilda. Her eyes rested on Marianne for a moment longer than Hilda. "Do I know you?"

Marianne nodded quickly. "Y-Yes. Well, um, no, not by name or anything. Unless you do know my name. I'm Marianne... Erm, uh, you used to play at Bottom's Up a lot. My friends and I go there frequently."

Dorothea smiled. "Ahhh, okay. Nice. Marianne is a beautiful name." She looked back to Hilda. "And you are?"

"That's Hilda Goneril," Edelgard cut in.

"Doesn't Hilda Goneril have pink hair?" Dorothea asked eyeing Hilda.

Hilda pulled off her wig and fluffed her hair out. "I'm incognito."

Dorothea raised her eyebrows as if impressed. "Ah, I see. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise!" Hilda chirped. "Your music is amazing."

Dorothea looked bashful, waving her hand in the air as if to wave off Hilda's compliments. "Oh, you flatter me. I write it for pretty girls like you."

"Oh-kay, that's enough of that," Edelgard cut in pushing Dorothea toward the door. "Don't you have a show to continue?"

"Is my little Edie jealous?" Dorothea teased, a smirk on her face.

Hilda snickered.

Edelgard's face had turned red. "I'm not jealous! I just... don't want you to miss your cue."

Dorothea rolled her eyes. "Ah, okay. Well, I better get going. Thanks for stopping by, girls." She gave Marianne and Hilda a little wave. "And I'll be seeing you later." She grabbed Edelgard around the waist and kissed her before letting her go and disappearing down the hall.

"Maybe we should get going too?" Hilda asked.

"You just got here," Edelgard said. "All that work and you're going to just leave."

"I appreciate everything you've done for me, Edelgard." Hilda rested her hands on Edelgard's shoulders. "Everything. And I'm sorry. For everything."

Edelgard blushed and looked away. "Y-Yeah, whatever. It was nothing."

Marianne looked between the two but found it best not to interject. She wondered briefly if they had had some sort of relationship back when they were kids. She could see that between them, even outside of their characters on the show. Enemies to lovers was always a trope people loved. 

"Well," Edelgard said with a sigh, "enjoy the rest of your night. Try not to do anything that'll make headlines."

Marianne and Hilda sat in the car. It was quiet and the radio DJ was talking about some random anecdote. But Marianne wasn't listening. Her ears were filled with the sound of Hilda's lips meeting hers. 

She couldn't remember exactly how they got there. One second they were leaving the bar and then they were kissing in the front seat. Marianne felt like she vaguely remembered fumbling with her keys, feeling Hilda's hand grab her jaw, and having her head tilted to the side. 

Hilda broke away first. "D-Do you want to... take me home?"

Marianne looked at the time. It was almost midnight. There was still plenty of evening left, though she supposed she couldn't force Hilda to stay out. Their night would have to come to an end eventually. It was inevitable that the sun would rise. Time wouldn't stop just for them to continue their little adventure forever.

"Oh, yeah. Where do you live?"

Hilda looked surprised. "Y-You want to go to my place?"

"Well, yeah, if you want me to—" Marianne paused as the realization of what "take me home" actually meant washed over her. "Oh."

"Sorry, was that too forward? I thought we were really hitting it off and..." Hilda trailed off, her face lighting up red. She looked away, twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

"And what?"

Hilda winced and mumbled something under her breath that Marianne couldn't hear.

"What?" Marianne asked.

"I haven't had sex with a girl before, okay?!" Hilda snapped. She looked embarrassed and retreated into her seat. "I... I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I just... I haven't had sex with a girl and... I mean, what if I'm just pretending and I don't actually like girls like that? Maybe I _am_ just doing this for attention... I don't know..."

Marianne sat back as well. "You know that's okay, right?"

"What do you mean?"

Marianne looked at the steering wheel, running her hands over it absently. "Well, I mean, like, you don't have to have everything figured out all the time. If you're not sure if you like girls, that's fine. You're... free to be yourself and find yourself. It's part of being human."

"I'm hardly human..."

"Huh?"

"Oh... um... well... Ever since I was a teen, my life has been dictated by managers and fans. Everything I have done and will do is scrutinized, even by people who claim they like me. Even just... coming out as bi could be career suicide. Or seen as some sort of fucking political statement. Not even mentioning the people who will be shitty about me coming out as bi, like, 'Oh, she just wants to be special,' or, 'Oh, she just doesn't want to admit she's a lesbian.' Like, fuck... Nobody will be happy if I do it."

Marianne reached her hand over and grabbed Hilda's. She squeezed it tightly. "Will you be happy if you don't?"

Hilda ran her fingers over Marianne's hand. "Does it matter if I'm happy? I make so many other people happy... Maybe I can just be happy through them."

"You should want to be happy. I... want you to be happy."

"Marianne..."

"I don't know you, Hilda. You're just a girl who's lived in my head for years. You exist there and you're beautiful. But that image of you I have... that's not you. Tonight, though, I got to actually see you. The real you underneath the makeup and stage lights. And I... I wanted to get to know you more."

"M-Marianne..."

"I know the night will end. It has to eventually. But I hope we can be friends when the sun comes up. And I hope you'll believe me when I say that things can only get better. It's not... as hopeless as it seems. And this is coming from the girl who wanted nothing more than to just die in high school."

Both of them were silent for a moment. Marianne had never said that out loud to anyone except her therapist. Now, it hung in the air between her and a practical stranger. She wanted to bang her head against the steering wheel for saying something too honest. 

"I'm glad you didn't," Hilda murmured. She brought Marianne's hand to her lips and kissed her softly. "I'm glad that I got to meet you."

Marianne's heart thumped. Hilda was glad to have met her? Marianne couldn't even fathom that statement. She leaned over to Hilda and pecked her cheek. "I feel the same."

Hilda turned her head and kissed Marianne again. Marianne felt like she was being more reserved than before. Hesitant even. Like she wasn't sure she should be kissing Marianne. Like she was scared to be doing it. Like she was vulnerable.

Marianne cupped Hilda's face and drew her in deeper. She wanted to let Hilda know it was okay. That she could feel unsure of herself. That liking women wasn't something that she should be ashamed of or scared to explore. But Hilda would have to find the answers for herself. Marianne had made her journey and she could offer her well-wishes, but Hilda's journey was going to have to be her own. Maybe it would start with this kiss. Maybe it had already started. Marianne couldn't know, but she would offer support in any way she could.

Marianne pulled away. "Where do you want to go?" she said softly.

"Wh-What?"

"You said you don't get to go out often. We have the night to ourselves. Where do you want to go?"

"Well, what do you normally do on dates?"

Marianne's face flushed. "Oh, this is a date now?"

"Marianne..." Hilda said with a shake of her head. "It was always a date."

"R-Right... Um, oh! What time is it?"

Hilda checked her phone. "Twelve, ten. Why?"

"I know where we should go."

Hilda sunk low in the theater seat making sure her hat was securely on her head and the mask covering her face. Marianne had been able to convince her that they should go to the movies, but that made Hilda's anxiety about being seen skyrocket. Still, she couldn't complain too much as Marianne had taken care of buying tickets and getting her popcorn.

"Why are we watching this movie?" Hilda asked. 

It was a few years old at this point, but probably the highlight of Hilda's career, aside from Garreg Mach. It was one of those cheesy, summer romance movies based on a cheesy romance novel. While it was in theaters, it was a popular date movie. Nowadays, Hilda knew plenty of people Netflix and chilled to it. Hilda liked it well enough. The male lead had been Claude Riegan, one of her co-stars from Garreg Mach. It was strange seeing him again all grown up, but he had made the shoot fun just like he always had when they were kids. It held a special place in her heart, but Hilda didn't know if she could see the appeal for Marianne. 

"The theater is playing a bunch of old hits and this is one of my favorite movies," Marianne said. "Even outside of the fact that you're in it. I saw it a ton when it first came out. Probably an embarrassing amount."

Hilda chuckled. "Okay, but why? Isn't it a really run-of-the-mill romance?"

Marianne looked embarrassed. "Oh, well... It's a good movie but... Well, the romantic and sexual tension between your character and her best friend... It's really, really good. The book delves a little bit deeper into their relationship, but seeing it on screen, wow. I've definitely written an embarrassing amount of fanfiction about it."

Hilda tilted her head. She didn't really recall. The actress that played her best friend was some up-and-coming actress that was still doing little things here and there these days. She'd been a little starstruck when she first met Hilda, but her acting had been easily on par with Hilda's despite it being her first big role. Hilda didn't exactly remember all their scenes together, but now she was curious to see what Marianne had seen.

The movie started just as it always did with Hilda's character talking with her best friend about going on a trip to visit her family. It was going to be a couple of weeks, but she'd be back soon. They hugged and Hilda noticed that both of them lingered in the hug just a second too long.

Later, after she returned home to her friend, she recounted the whirlwind romance she had had while at home. Her friend seemed accepting but agreed that maybe she shouldn't continue to see this guy who seemed like a hit or miss. They held hands. They spent the night together.

Hilda's character, of course, ended up with the love interest. The movie ended with a time skip wedding. Her best friend was the maid of honor and she seemed happy for the couple, despite her earlier disagreement with it. The movie finished just as it always did.

Somehow, Hilda felt like the friend has been cheated. That clearly she was the best fit for Hilda's character. The love interest wasn't even a halfway decent guy, he just looked good. Hilda turned to Marianne.

"This is your favorite movie? Hannah was robbed!"

Marianne giggled. "Yeah, I know. It's called a fix-it fic."

Hilda grabbed Marianne's hands. "I have to read it now. Show me."

Marianne paused, her face flushing. "O-Oh... Um, my fics specifically?"

"Well, sure, why not start there?"

"W-Well, my fics are..." Marianne cleared her throat awkwardly. "Eighteen-plus."

Hilda laughed. "Marianne, I've acted in several sex scenes. I've had my tits out on camera. I'm sure you know that very well. I think I can handle reading your fluffy, sex pieces."

Marianne's eyes went wide and she looked away. "Y-Yeah, fluffy..."

Hilda raised an eyebrow. 

"We should probably just get going." Marianne stood from her seat and started to quickly exit the theater.

"Wait... Marianne!" Hilda popped out of her seat to run after her.

Marianne yawned as she turned on the car. It was just past two now and she was starting to fade. Her eyes were getting heavy and she was surprised she'd been able to stay awake through the whole film. 

"I guess I should take you home now," Marianne said, stifling another yawn in her hand. Her eyes teared up and she blinked several times to clear them.

"Can I go home with you?" Hilda asked. "Not to have sex or anything," she added quickly. "Or like, well, I guess we could if you wanted to, but I'm not asking for that reason. I just... I don't want to go home and I want to spend more time with you."

"With me?"

"Listen, I don't get to spend a lot of nights with crazy-cute crew members, okay?"

Marianne blinked. Crazy-cute? That's how Hilda had described the girl she liked earlier. "Wait... me?"

Hilda looked over. "Hm? What?"

"I'm the girl..."

"What do you mean you're the girl...?"

"You said earlier... that you told your parents because you had a crush on a girl. A crazy-cute member of the crew..." Marianne pointed to herself. "It's me."

Hilda's face flushed and her eyes went wide. "Oh, well, I..."

Marianne laughed, but her hands were shaking as she held onto the steering wheel. "Hilda Goneril has a crush on me..." Saying it out loud didn't make it feel any more real. She supposed that Hilda could have a crush on anyone, but the fact that it was her... What had even caught Hilda's eye about her? She was so plain in every way and she could hardly do her job right. 

"Don't get a big head about it," Hilda said with a roll of her eyes. "You're really cute. I'm sure you know that." She reached over and brushed a lock of hair behind Marianne's ear. "I've had my eye on you for a little while."

"Could've fooled me. I think yesterday was the first time I even knew you knew I existed."

"Well, I couldn't just ask you out on a date... I was in a relationship until recently... And if you had told someone that I asked you out, it would've been a disaster."

Marianne nodded. "Right... Well, I won't tell anybody about tonight."

"Thanks, Marianne. You're a real sweetheart for lugging me around town all night only to not tell a single soul that it happened. I hope you at least enjoyed yourself a little bit."

Marianne laughed. "I did. You're... really cool and down to earth actually. Not saying that I thought you weren't, but you know. I didn't know what you were like."

"Yeah, no, I get what you mean," Hilda said with a wave of her hand. "I can be a total diva if you're into it though."

Marianne rolled her eyes. "I think you're already halfway there."

Hilda laughed and leaned over to whisper into Marianne's ear, "I can be much, much worse."

Marianne shivered. She had a feeling that was true. Suddenly, Hilda's offer to spend the night with her didn't seem so crazy. "Maybe... we should go to my place."

Marianne woke up to loud banging on her bedroom door. Her head hurt a little bit and the sunlight coming in through her blinds was strong. She looked at her phone. It was almost noon.

Marianne sat up and rubbed her eyes. She felt Hilda stir beside her. She must've been tired too. Her eyes had been glued to her phone most of the evening as she read one of Marianne's more popular fics. Marianne had tried to get Hilda to stop several times before getting to the incredibly detailed BDSM scene so she wouldn't have to live out being mortally wounded in real-time, but Hilda was unrelenting. They had stayed up until the sun began to rise reading the slow-burn.

And when the sun did finally start to rise, Hilda had whispered endless amounts of secrets to Marianne. Things about her childhood and growing up in the industry. Secrets about Garreg Mach and even a little hint at her relationship with Edelgard. Marianne, in turn, shared her deepest secrets too. How she had been so lonely as a kid and Garreg Mach was one of the few things that kept her going. How the show had inspired her to work in the film industry. 

When they ran out of secrets to tell, Hilda's mouth was on Marianne's. They kissed for a long time, their fingers laced together as their mouths talked wordlessly. Marianne wasn't sure she'd ever been kissed so much in her life. But she loved every second of it. Her chest had felt full all evening.

Eventually, they succumbed to their exhaustion against their wills. Marianne was sure that Hilda was feeling the same way as her. If they fell asleep, the night would end. There was no telling what the morning would bring. 

"Marianne, are you getting up today?!" It was Lysithea's voice. "You were the one who wanted to go to the movies!"

After going to the movies the night before and blowing most of the money she had on hand, Marianne wasn't exactly in the mood to go out again. 

"Are you dead?! What time did you come home? I'm getting my key."

Marianne vaulted from the bed and opened the door just enough for her to peek out. "I'm up," she mumbled.

"Who's in there?" Lysithea asked with narrow eyes.

Marianne blushed. "Wh-What? Why would you just assume...?"

"You don't lock your bedroom door. Ever. Why would you lock it now? And you came home super late. Leonie and I went to bed at one and you were nowhere to be found. Who's here?"

"N-No one's here, Lysithea..."

Lysithea crossed her arms. "Oh, so you won't mind if I come in then?"

"I-I'm naked. I was hot last night and slept naked, and I locked the door so you wouldn't come in."

"You're a terrible liar, Marianne. Did you have sex last night?"

"No!" Marianne yelped. "A-And even if I did, that's none of your business."

"So you did."

Marianne didn't know what to say. She hadn't even had sex, but there was no way Lysithea was going to believe her. She was relentless. Marianne couldn't believe that, in the heat of the moment, she'd actually brought Hilda home and was now being subjected to the worst interrogation ever. Though, she probably wouldn't go back and change anything.

"Actually," Hilda said from behind Marianne, "we didn't." She had gotten up from the bed at some point and was standing on her toes to peer over Marianne's shoulder. She smiled. "Hi."

Lysithea's eyes went wide. "Oh my God, you're Hilda Goneril."

Hilda nodded. "Guilty."

Lysithea's gaze fell on Marianne. "You slept with Hilda Goneril?! LEONIE!" She took off without waiting for either of them to respond.

"Why would you get her going?" Marianne asked with a sigh.

Hilda shrugged. "I'm exhausted and just wanted her to be quiet." She wrapped her arms around Marianne's waist and pressed her forehead into her back. "They won't tell, right?"

"Nah, my roommates are harmless. They're good at keeping secrets."

Hilda squeezed Marianne tighter. "Are you going to treat me to breakfast?"

"We didn't even have sex."

"Your stipulation for breakfast is sex? Wow, that's cold."

Marianne laughed. She could hear Leonie and Lysithea already coming back. "I'll take you out for breakfast if it gets us out of the house before I'm grilled on our entire evening."

" _Soooo_... are you asking me on a _date_?"

Marianne nodded. "Yes, I am."


End file.
